Phys.org news tagged with:microbeshttp://phys.org/
en-usPhys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.A new perspective on microbesMost of us considered microbes little more than nasty germs before science recently began turning our view of the microbial world on its head. A "microbe" is a bacterium and any other organism too small to see with the naked eye. After decades of trying to sanitize them out of our lives, the human microbiome – the communities of microbes living on and in us – is now all the rage. And yet, some insist that we can't really call microbes "good." That's nonsense.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-perspective-microbes.html
Cell & Microbiology Tue, 06 Dec 2016 07:30:01 ESTnews400231125Researchers discover way to make surfaces less vulnerable to disease-causing bacteriaMicrobes, specifically disease-causing bacteria, can cause all sorts of havoc when they take hold on surfaces.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-surfaces-vulnerable-disease-causing-bacteria.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Dec 2016 09:09:56 ESTnews399805787Genomics technique could accelerate detection of foodborne bacterial outbreaksA new testing methodology based on metagenomics could accelerate the diagnosis of foodborne bacterial outbreaks, allowing public health officials to identify the microbial culprits in less than a day. The methodology could also identify co-infections with secondary microbes, determine the specific variant of the pathogen, and help alert health officials to the presence of new or unusual pathogens.http://phys.org/news/2016-11-genomics-technique-foodborne-bacterial-outbreaks.html
Cell & Microbiology Wed, 30 Nov 2016 09:42:43 ESTnews399721355Super seeds promise better cropsSouth Australian research that improves wheat, pastures and other crop yields has sown the seeds for global distribution deals and a timely partnership with an innovative US agricultural technology company Indigo Ag Inc.http://phys.org/news/2016-11-super-seeds-crops.html
Biotechnology Tue, 29 Nov 2016 07:30:02 ESTnews399626390Each animal species hosts a unique microbial community and benefits from itEach animal species hosts its own, unique community of microbes that can significantly improve its health and fitness.http://phys.org/news/2016-11-animal-species-hosts-unique-microbial.html
Cell & Microbiology Mon, 28 Nov 2016 17:43:23 ESTnews399577393Looking for a city's DNA? Try its ATMsAutomated teller machine keypads in New York City have plenty of microbes but they're mostly from normal human skin, household surfaces or traces of food, according to a study published this week in mSphere, an open access journal from the American Society for Microbiology.http://phys.org/news/2016-11-city-dna-atms.html
Cell & Microbiology Wed, 16 Nov 2016 13:00:02 ESTnews398517091Study finds limited sign of soil adaptation to climate warmingWhile scientists and policy experts debate the impacts of global warming, the Earth's soil is releasing roughly nine times more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than all human activities combined. This huge carbon flux from soil—due to the natural respiration of soil microbes and plant roots—begs one of the central questions in climate change science. As the global climate warms, will soil respiration rates increase, adding even more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and accelerating climate change?http://phys.org/news/2016-11-limited-soil-climate.html
Environment Mon, 14 Nov 2016 15:00:14 ESTnews398348447Deep down fracking wells, microbial communities thriveMicrobes have a remarkable ability to adapt to the extreme conditions in fracking wells, according to a study published in the October issue of Nature Microbiology.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-deep-fracking-wells-microbial.html
Cell & Microbiology Tue, 25 Oct 2016 02:41:02 ESTnews396582048Researchers discover microbes able to convert compounds released from coal directly into methane(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan has discovered the existence of a microbe that is able to convert organic compounds released from coal directly into methane. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes the experiments they conducted and the microbes they found. Cornelia Welte, with Radboud University in the Netherlands, offers a Perspective piece in the same journal issue explaining the work done by the team and the implications of their findings.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-microbes-compounds-coal-methane.html
Materials Science Fri, 14 Oct 2016 11:55:03 ESTnews395664892Study reveals corals' influence on reef microbesAs they grow, corals are bathed in a sea of marine microbes, such as bacteria, algae, and viruses. While these extremely abundant and tiny microorganisms influence coral communities in a variety of ways, a new study by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) reveals that corals also have an impact on the microbes in waters surrounding them.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-reveals-corals-reef-microbes.html
Environment Wed, 12 Oct 2016 10:22:10 ESTnews395486521Restoring sand dunes, one microbe at a timeSand dunes pull double duty—offering a visual treat both for their undulating curves and their ability to attract birds and other wildlife, while affording protection from storm surges and the threat of rising sea levels.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-sand-dunes-microbe.html
Biotechnology Tue, 11 Oct 2016 12:25:00 ESTnews395407492Soil microbes flourish with reduced tillageFor the past several decades, farmers have been abandoning their plows in favor of a practice known as no-till agriculture. Today, about one-third of U.S. farmers are no longer tilling their fields, and still more are practicing conservation tillage—using equipment that only disturbs the soil to a minimal degree. No-till and, to a lesser degree, conservation tillage maintains or improves soil quality by preserving soil structure and moisture, increasing soil organic matter, and providing habitat for soil microbes.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-soil-microbes-flourish-tillage.html
Environment Tue, 04 Oct 2016 12:10:21 ESTnews394801807Tough microbe settlers in the concrete jungleIt is easy to forget that much of our cities—the sidewalks, buildings, bridges, and runways—are made from the world's most common building material: concrete.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-tough-microbe-settlers-concrete-jungle.html
Engineering Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:14:55 ESTnews394272879What you need to know about soil to keep your garden healthyAs the weather warms and days lengthen, your attention may be turning to that forgotten patch of your backyard. This week we've asked our experts to share the science behind gardening. So grab a trowel and your green thumbs, and dig in.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-soil-garden-healthy.html
Environment Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:00:02 ESTnews394271697Microbes help plants survive in severe droughtWith California in its fifth year of severe drought and many western states experiencing another year of unusually dry conditions, plants are stressed.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-microbes-survive-severe-drought.html
Plants & Animals Mon, 19 Sep 2016 15:51:10 ESTnews393519057Hebridean rock provides clue to life on MarsAnalysis of rocks in the Outer Hebrides has provided a tantalising clue that Mars may contain habitats which can potentially support life.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-hebridean-clue-life-mars.html
Space Exploration Fri, 16 Sep 2016 06:30:04 ESTnews393225772New genus of bacteria found living inside hydraulic fracturing wellsResearchers analyzing the genomes of microorganisms living in shale oil and gas wells have found evidence of sustainable ecosystems taking hold there—populated in part by a never-before-seen genus of bacteria they have dubbed "Frackibacter."http://phys.org/news/2016-09-genus-bacteria-hydraulic-fracturing-wells.html
Cell & Microbiology Mon, 05 Sep 2016 11:00:07 ESTnews392269976New approach could lower cost and eliminate need for antibiotics during biofuel productionThe cost and environmental impact of producing liquid biofuels and biochemicals as alternatives to petroleum-based products could be significantly reduced, thanks to a new metabolic engineering technique.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-approach-antibiotics-biofuel-production.html
Biotechnology Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:00:02 ESTnews389528334New genome reveals how Arctic microbes survive in cold extreme habitatsScientists at the University of Bristol have revealed how a tiny Arctic microbe, crucial to shaping the surface of glaciers, survives in such extreme conditions.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-genome-reveals-arctic-microbes-survive.html
Biotechnology Thu, 04 Aug 2016 05:34:50 ESTnews389507670Teasing out the microbiome of the Kansas prairieThe Kansas prairie seems like the very picture of beauty and simplicity, with undulating fields of corn and wheat stretching as far as the eye can see.http://phys.org/news/2016-07-microbiome-kansas-prairie.html
Environment Fri, 29 Jul 2016 09:40:02 ESTnews389003415Some bacteria have lived in the human gut since before we were humanSome of the bacteria in our guts were passed down over millions of years, since before we were human, suggesting that evolution plays a larger role than previously known in people's intestinal-microbe makeup, according to a new study in the journal Science.http://phys.org/news/2016-07-bacteria-human-gut.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 21 Jul 2016 14:00:13 ESTnews388322087Study reveals some secrets of how microbes and their genes traverse the globe(Phys.org)—An international team of researchers led by MIT's Ilana Brito has discovered some of the ways that certain microbes are able to travel around the world. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes how they collected samples of microbes from villagers living in Fiji to learn more about the nature of microbe transfer.http://phys.org/news/2016-07-reveals-secrets-microbes-genes-traverse.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 14 Jul 2016 09:00:01 ESTnews387703485Breeding plants with more beneficial bacteria to feed the world won't be simple, study saysWith the human population expected to climb from 7.4 billion to more than 11 billion people by 2100, some scientists hope that manipulating the plant microbiome could open up new ways to meet the growing demand for food.http://phys.org/news/2016-07-beneficial-bacteria-world-wont-simple.html
Biotechnology Tue, 12 Jul 2016 13:23:32 ESTnews387548601Boston subway system covered in microbes, but they're not harmfulBoston's subway system, known as the T, might be just as bacteria-laden as you'd expect but organisms found there are largely from normal human skin and incapable of causing disease, according to a study published June 28 in mSystems, an open access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-boston-subway-microbes-theyre.html
Cell & Microbiology Tue, 28 Jun 2016 13:26:50 ESTnews386339190Researcher explores microbes in spaceOn May 11, a sealed capsule containing fungi and bacteria fell from the sky and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Microbiologist Kasthuri Venkateswaran could hardly wait to see what was inside it.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-explores-microbes-space.html
Space Exploration Mon, 06 Jun 2016 08:40:02 ESTnews384417700Fertilizer use could reduce climate benefit of cellulosic biofuelsAccording to a new, three-year study from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and Michigan State University (MSU), the use of nitrogen fertilizer on switchgrass crops can produce a sharp increase in emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas up to 300 times more harmful than carbon dioxide and a significant driver of global climate change.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-fertilizer-climate-benefit-cellulosic-biofuels.html
Environment Fri, 03 Jun 2016 08:30:02 ESTnews384160989Microbial activity in the dark oceanThere are a lot of tiny living organisms in the dark ocean. Imagine their habitat, it is completely different from ours! During this cruise I am measuring the activity of microorganisms using a device called the In Situ Microbial Incubator or ISMI in short.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-microbial-dark-ocean.html
Environment Wed, 01 Jun 2016 09:00:01 ESTnews383987693Scientists discover methane-producing microbes in California rocksDeep in vents on the ocean floor, methane-producing microbes feed off chemical reactions between water and rock. Now evidence of this process has been found on land in a freshwater spring in California.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-scientists-methane-producing-microbes-california.html
Environment Tue, 24 May 2016 12:07:11 ESTnews383310420Evolution influenced by temporary microbesLife on Earth often depends on symbiotic relationships between microbes and other forms of life. A new theory suggests that researchers should consider how symbiotic microbes can influence the evolution of life on Earth, and possibly beyond.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-evolution-temporary-microbes.html
Cell & Microbiology Tue, 24 May 2016 09:40:01 ESTnews383299533Researchers develop new way to decode large amounts of biological dataIn recent years, the amount of genomic data available to scientists has exploded. With faster and cheaper techniques increasingly available, hundreds of plants, animals and microbes have been sequenced in recent years. However, this ever-expanding trove of genetic information has created a problem: how can scientists quickly analyze all of this data, which could hold the key to better understanding many diseases, and solving other health and environmental issues.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-decode-large-amounts-biological.html
Other Wed, 18 May 2016 14:01:52 ESTnews382798900